Surprise, Surprise
by lemonpeel
Summary: Finn has one week to figure out a way to tell Rachel that they won't have to say good-bye to each other at the end of the summer.


**Inspired by a prompt from finchel-prompts on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)**

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><p>One week.<p>

That's all he had left before they graduated from high school. That's all he had left to figure out a way to tell Rachel that they won't have to say good-bye to each other at the end of the summer.

As far as Rachel knows, he's accepted the football scholarship to OSU and will be starting there this fall while she and Kurt go off to New York to chase their big Broadway dreams. What he didn't tell her though, was that he applied and was accepted at NYU. He worked his butt off to make sure his grades were good and worked even harder at his admissions essays and SATs. She was always telling him that he was good enough to get out of Ohio and he was really going to do it.

While he didn't exactly want to be in theatre like Rachel and Kurt, he definitely wanted to continue to do something with music, he knew that much. Football had been something he enjoyed because it was the only thing he had felt he was good at. Until Glee club, that is.

His mom had cried when he'd shown her the acceptance letter and had told him over and over how proud she was.

"Oh Finn, I'm just so proud of you. And I know your father would be extremely proud of the young man you've grown up to be," she said. He leaned down to give her a huge hug and kissed her cheek.

"You're the best mom ever, " he said. "I love you and thanks for putting up with me all these years!"

Carole had cried even harder at that and he laughed as she smothered him with hugs and kisses. Even Burt had given him a hug with a pat on the back in congratulations.

To say Kurt had been extremely ecstatic would be an understatement. He had been the one Finn had confided in about his plans to apply and had helped him with the application process because Finn didn't want to tell Rachel until he knew for sure if he was accepted.

"This is just perfect!" he exclaimed. "I can't wait until you tell Rachel! Now we can start looking for a perfect little apartment. I'm warning you, Finn, that you'll probably be doing most of the heavy lifting. Oh, and since I will be living in close quarters with you and Rachel, I do ask that you please keep the noise level down. God knows I've heard and unfortunately seen enough!" He kept rambling on and on, but eventually Finn tuned him out.

"You have to promise me you'll keep it a secret for a little longer, Kurt," he interrupted Kurt's rambling about curtains. "I still don't know how to tell her. I just know that I want it to be a surprise. And I want to do it on my own time, in my own way, ok?"

"Fine, fine," Kurt waved him off. "I've kept the secret this long, haven't I? And let me tell you, it is extremely hard keeping a secret from that girl."

"Tell me about it," Finn muttered. He walked off to his room to get changed for the date he had planned with Rachel.

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><p>"Finn!" Rachel exclaimed as soon as she opened the door to see her tall boyfriend standing there with a gentle smile on his face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled as he lifted her slightly off the ground to press a kiss against her lips.<p>

"Hi, baby," Finn smiled down at her. "You ready to go?"

Rachel nodded and grabbed her coat and purse before shutting the front door and walking with him to his truck.

They drove in relative silence to the movies, Rachel singing every once in a while with a song on the radio. He smiled at how adorable she was and brought their joined hands up to press a kiss against her palm.

"I love you so much, you know that right?" he said.

She looked at him curiously before reaching over to kiss his cheek.

"I know," she said. "I love you too. Oh! I almost forgot, I have a bag of Sour Patch Kids for you in my purse."

He laughed at how well she knew him.

Hours and one horribly cheesy romantic comedy later, Finn and Rachel lay curled up in her bed talking quietly.

"I can't believe that this time next week we'll be high school graduates," said Rachel.

"I know," said Finn. "It's crazy how fast time flew by. You know, we've gone through a lot to get where we are right now."

He thinks about the first time he met her—when they sang that song from Grease and he'd been more than a little freaked out by the crazy look in her eyes. He remembers when they sang Don't Stop Believin,' back when the Glee club consisted of just him, Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Artie.

"Do you remember when we sang Push It at that school assembly sophomore year?" she asks with a giggle.

He cringes as he remembers the choreography of that song and how impossible it had been for him to get the feeling of Rachel grinding on him out of his mind.

"Oh yeah, do I remember," he laughs. She giggles uncontrollably suddenly and he looks down at her in surprise.

"What?" he asks.

"I was just remembering when you and I sang With You I'm Born Again and we dressed up as a priest and a nun," she said, burying her head in his chest. "Remember, we were trying to lose so Sam could win?"

"Yeah, definitely not one of our finest moments," he laughed. "What's your favorite performance we ever did in Glee club?"

"Faithfully," she replied almost a beat after he finished asking the question. "That was the first time you told me you loved me. And the words felt right. It was just one of those unforgettable moments, you know?"

Finn smiled down at her and ran a hand through her hair before he leaned down to kiss her.

"I know what you mean," he whispered. "I think that's my favorite too. Pretending was a little bit more memorable, though. Superman kisses and all of that."

She giggled and pressed another kiss to his lips. He deepened it and she let out a small moan. She pushed on his shoulder and rolled them so she was on top. She pressed another kiss against his lips before sitting up.

"My dads aren't coming home until Monday, you know," she said with a small smirk on her lips. He looked up at her with her mussed hair and swollen lips before suddenly rolling them again.

"Looks like I'm staying the night then, huh," he said. Her giggle turned into a gasp as he began trailing kisses down her neck and his hands slowly inched their way up her dress.

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><p>He woke up the next morning curled around Rachel and he couldn't wait to wake up like that for the rest of his life. He nuzzled his face further into her neck and tightened his arms around her. He was so thankful everyday that he had her in his life. It was hell living without her and he was comforted by the fact that he never had to live like that again.<p>

He trailed small kisses from her arm up to her shoulder and onto her neck, smiling as she wiggled slightly against him.

"Mmm," she murmured and turned her head slightly. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and he kissed her forehead as she woke up.

"Morning, baby," he whispered, his voice rough from sleep.

She smiled at him and turned in his arms so that she could bury her face in his neck.

"Morning, Finn," she muttered before kissing his bare skin. "I love waking up with you." She brought her hand up to cradle his face before kissing him.

"I love waking up with you, too," he replied. They shared lazy kisses for a while until she decided to get up and make breakfast. She sat up and stretched, the sheet falling and revealing her naked body to his eyes. She picked up his shirt from the night before and slipped it on. He pouted at not being able to see her anymore and she just laughed and pulled him up too.

Twenty minutes later they were down in her kitchen; him sitting patiently at the table wearing only his boxers and her busy making him vegan strawberry pancakes.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked as she set a plate in front of him.

"Um, I don't know," she replied. "It would be nice to just lay around here all day."

"You read my mind," he said. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she playfully pushed his shoulder.

The second they were done eating, he picked her up over his shoulder and ran to her bedroom, her giggling the entire way.

"Finn!" she exclaimed as he threw her down on her bed.

"Rachel!" he mocked her playfully. He looked down at her dressed in only his shirt, no make-up on, and wide brown eyes reflecting nothing but love and happiness.

"I love you so much, Rach," he whispered. She smiled up at him before tugging him down to kiss her.

"I love you too," she said. "Now I believe you promised me a day of just laying around…" she trailed off and looked up at him with a smirk. He growled playfully in her ear and started to undo the buttons of her shirt.

Yeah, he could definitely get used to mornings like this, he thought.

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><p>"Ok, guys, it's our final meeting of the year," said Mr. Schuester as he addressed the Glee club on four days later. "I can't believe a bunch of you are graduating. It's been an interesting ride these last three years, and I've just got say that I'm so proud of all of you. You guys have accomplished so much and have really grown up into amazing young adults."<p>

Finn felt Rachel squeeze his hand and he looked down to see that she had tears in her eyes. He kissed her forehead lightly and knew that this is when he wanted to announce his surprise.

This last week had gone by so fast, complete with cleaning out lockers, signing yearbooks, returning books, and paying last minute cafeteria debts.

"Uh, Mr. Schue?" he asked. "I'd like to say something, if that's ok."

Mr. Schuester nodded and signaled for Finn to come down. As Finn stood there looking around, he had to take a deep breath. This club, this room, it all changed his life. Just three years ago he was the captain of the football team, he had a blonde head cheerleader for a girlfriend, and he was living day to day on autopilot.

"Uh right," he began, "so I want to thank everyone for the last few years. Even though we've all had our share of fights and stuff, we've always been a family. Being in Glee has had a major impact on my life. It's made me a better person. Well, my dancing is probably only like a little bit better but whatever."

"Amen to that, Frankenteen," said Santana but she gave a genuine smile and put her head on Brittany's shoulder. Finn shot her a playful glare as everyone laughed.

"You guys have been my best friends," he said. "And I even got a brother and a dad from all of this." He nodded at Kurt, who grinned and did a beauty queen wave around the room.

He looked at Rachel now, and he could tell she was struggling not to cry.

"Rach, I love you so much and I want you to know that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said. "Since day one, you've told me how talented I was and how important it was not to give up on something that made me happy. I know you think that playing football at OSU in the fall is going to make me happy, but that's not entirely true."

She looks confused at this and tilts her head, looking at him curiously. He just smiles and continues on with his speech.

"There's something I didn't tell you—I applied to NYU," he said. Her eyes grow wide as she looks at him in surprise. "You're what makes me happy, Rach. You told me you would support me with whatever made me happy and that's you. I got accepted and I'm going to New York with you, baby."

"Oh, finally!" exclaimed Kurt, clapping while bouncing up and down in his seat. "It's been so hard keeping it a secret!" Blaine, who was sitting next to him, laughed and put his arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"Yeah, Hudson, that's my boy," said Puck with a smirk. Quinn rolled her eyes beside him but offered Finn congratulations as well.

But Finn only had eyes for Rachel, who had yet to say anything.

"Rach?" he asked.

"You're really going?" she asked in a small voice. By now everyone was waiting anxiously for her reaction.

"Yep," he replied. "There isn't anywhere in the world I'd rather be than with you, Rachel." He offers her a small smile and that's all it takes before she's out of her seat and in his arms.

"I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy! But I'm so mad at you for not telling me sooner." He just laughed and held her to him tightly and spun her around. Everyone around them started clapping and Mr. Schuester stood up to congratulate him.

"Well done, Finn, I always knew you could do whatever you set your mind to," said Mr. Schuester. Finn thanked him and took Rachel's hand to go back and sit down.

"I love you," Rachel whispered in his ear as they took their seats again.

"I love you too," he replied. He took her hand in his and sat back feeling perfectly content.


End file.
